Suspended Ceilings Made Easy

Suspended ceilings can intimidate the average handy man, but they aren't that hard to install. I have installed a lot of these ceilings and they are really easy if you follow a few steps.

The first thing you need to do is to figure out is how much to buy. If you have a diagram of the room, you can take it to your home center and they will be glad to help. I usually draw the main beams with a darker line to remind me which way it will be laid out. Also you need to know where the lights will be, so it's a good idea to mark this on your diagram.

You will need a wall angle piece all the way around the room. These are usually ten feet long. Level all the way around the room at least six inches down from the ceiling (more is better). Screw these angle pieces onto the walls and rivet them together at the corners.

Next you need to figure out which way your main beams will go. I like to find the ceiling joists and run the main beams across. In this way you can install your wire to the joists where ever they need to be fastened. If you need to splice these, don't worry, they snap together easily. These need to be installed in a certain way. As with floor tile, you need to find the center of the room to allow the same size panels at each wall. These also need to be cut the same on each beam so that the cross tees will fit squarely in the slots. Install these four feet apart. There are slots every six inches in the beams to allow for different applications. Mostly these are to prevent waste. If you have cut the first beam at one of these slots, then what ever you have left you can use to start the next beam by cutting at the next slot, and splicing together another piece.

Using eye bolts in the existing ceiling for the wires, connect them to the main beams every four feet. Using a string from wall to wall you can adjust the wires to get the beams level with the wall angle. Just raise the beam until it is even with the string, and tie the wire by twisting it tight.